Judith McNaught
A Kingdom of Dreams
(Westmoreland Dynasty Saga – 1)
To toothless grins and baby toys;
To Little League games and tears
you wouldn't cry;
To fast cars, pretty girls, and
college football;
To compassion and charm and humor;
To my son.
We've come a long way together. Clay.
Special Notes of Gratitude…
To my secretary, Karen T. Caton-
For all the frantic midnights you worked beside me; For never losing your patience or your humor;
and for never losing track of me !
and
To Dr. Benjamin Hudson
Department of History, Penn State University,
who gave me answers when I couldn't find them anywhere.
and
To Dr. Sharon Woodruff for her friendship and encouragement.
Chapter One
A toast to the duke of Claymore and his bride!"
Under normal circumstances, this call for a wedding toast would have caused the lavishly dressed ladies and gentlemen assembled in the great hall at Merrick castle to smile and cheer. Goblets of wine would have been raised and more toasts offered in celebration of a grand and noble wedding such as the one which was about to take place here in the south of Scotland.
But not today. Not at this wedding.
At this wedding, no one cheered and no one raised a goblet. At this wedding, everyone was watching everyone else, and everyone was tense. The bride's family was tense. The groom's family was tense. The guests and the servants and the hounds in the hall were tense. Even the first earl of Merrick, whose portrait hung above the fireplace, looked tense.
"A toast to the duke of Claymore and his bride," the groom's brother pronounced again, his voice like a thunderclap in the unnatural, tomblike silence of the crowded hall. "May they enjoy a long and fruitful life together."